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uavs
Posts Tagged “
UAVs
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uavs
uavs
Armchair UAV Pilots Striking Afghanistan in Las Vegas, Taco Bell Fueled Comfort
We all know about how the military is utilizing UAV's in an ever increasing amount of missions. And why not? Unmanned aircraft represent a safer and more cost efficient approach to aerial combat. However, we rarely get to see what it is like on the other side of these aircraft—to see the job through the eyes of a UAV pilot. Apparently, it's much like any other job—except you get to kill things in Afghanistan from the air-conditioned Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. More »
uavs
Curly-Winged UAV Will Leech From Power Lines, Fly Forever
The next version of the DevilRay unmanned aerial vehicle will feature the ability to dock to and recharge from power lines. Made by Defense Research Associates, the UAV uses down-curled wingtips to make such a low-speed maneuver possible. The four-foot wide, propeller-driven flying wing will use "inverse capped helix winglets" to take advantage of the wingtip wind vortexes that form during flight, providing stabilization in lieu of a tail. More »
drone
Research UAV is Preview of Hovering Spy Drones of Tomorrow
Meet STARMAC, the Stanford Testbed of Autonomous Rotorcraft for Multi-Agent Control. Possibly the cleverest remote control mini-helicopter you've ever seen, packed with GPS, sensors and computer power. It's a research quad-rotor that the Stanford team is using to develop algorithms for future aircraft like it. More »
iphone
Berkeley Group Uses iPhone to Control UAV Squadron
The Center for Collaborative Control of Unmanned Vehicles (C3UV—the "3" makes it hip) at the University of California, Berkeley has developed a system that uses the iPhone to develop tasks, set coordinates and send orders to a fleet of UAVs. Naturally, this development is interesting because it allows a single person to control a large number of small, unmanned aircraft at one time using a cellphone. But, as Wired points out, the clause in the SDK agreement clearly states that "autonomous control of vehicles, aircraft, or other mechanical devices" is a big no-no. So the future of this type of technology is unclear.[C3UV via Wired]
6:00 PM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Sean Fallon
2,374 views,
23 comments
Latest by n/a: ahhh...All I see is the use of an iPhone as a dumb terminal connected to a laptop. For that matter, any phone will do... more »
gadgets
DARPA Technology Autonomously Lands Severely Damaged Aircraft
DARPA, the Pentagon's source for R&D (and lovers of acronyms big and small) have released a video illustrating the Damage Tolerance and Autonomous Landing Solution they developed alongside Athena Technologies. Basically, DTALS is designed to take over for a pilot in the event that the aircraft sustains heavy damage. The system automatically detects the damage and adjusts the flight control system to land the aircraft safely. More »
military tech
World's Smallest UAV Weighs 10 Grams, Flaps Like a Bird
AreoVironment is building the world's smallest UAV, called the Nano Air Vehicle, that has moving wings instead of a propeller or engine. DARPA has given the company $636,000 and six months to demonstrate an ultra-small UAV that will be under three inches long and under 10 grams. More »
uavs
Israeli Institute Plans Battlefield Medevac UAVs
You may think someone over in Israel's Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies had been watching one too many episodes of The Jetsons, but no... this is a real project. It looks like an Israeli consortium, led by the Fisher Institute, is attempting to put together the world's first unpiloted battlefield resupply and evacuation aircraft, dubbed "MedUAV." And as the strangely 1960s sci-fi concept drawing shows, it could take the form of a ducted-fan VTOL air car. More »
uavs
Prox Dynamics Black Hornet: World's Smallest UAV, Too Small for Mr. T
I'm no sissy, but I don't like airplanes. And man, don't be shouting "eclipse" or I'll get angry! But I like this helicopter: it's so small, much better than that big Boeing thing. They say it's the "worlds smallest and most capable Unmanned Aircraft System". The Black Hornet is designed to aid soldiers in the field, or allow rescuers to get a camera into dangerous places. It's got a tiny camera in, you see, like a suped-up toy. Any sucker can carry it in a pocket and launch it by hand. It's 4 inches big and weighs just 20 grams. 20 grams? What kinda fool weight is that? Say 0.04 pounds! Should be flyin' in '09. Unlike me. [Prox dynamics via Pop Sci]
uavs
A fierce battle is brewing between Boeing and Raytheon to become the main supplier of unmanned aerial vehicles for the US Navy and Marine Corps. Currently, Boeing holds that title with their battle-tested ScanEagle drone. However, Raytheon's updated Killer Bee design is ready for sale, and the company claims that their aircraft has advantages over its competitor like more room for payloads, more than 100 miles of range, infrared feeds, and guide precision munitions with an on-board laser designator.
More »
Raytheon's "Killer Bee" UAV Looks to Sting Boeing in Drone Race
A fierce battle is brewing between Boeing and Raytheon to become the main supplier of unmanned aerial vehicles for the US Navy and Marine Corps. Currently, Boeing holds that title with their battle-tested ScanEagle drone. However, Raytheon's updated Killer Bee design is ready for sale, and the company claims that their aircraft has advantages over its competitor like more room for payloads, more than 100 miles of range, infrared feeds, and guide precision munitions with an on-board laser designator.
More »
uavs
Plasma Thruster Powered, Cigarette Sized, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Take to the Skies
Cigarette-sized unmanned aircraft, utilizing plasma thrusters for power, may sound like something out of the pits of science fiction's B-rate movie bin to us, but we aren't DARPA. That's right the guys at DARPA are actually working with boffins at Oklahoma State University to make the vision a reality.More »
